The present disclosure relates generally to information handling systems, and more particularly to driver file conversion system for information handling systems.
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option is an information handling system (IHS). An IHS generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements may vary between different applications, IHSs may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in IHSs allow for IHSs to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, IHSs may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
IHS operating systems use driver files to install drivers on the IHS in order to use those drivers to operate or control devices attached to the IHS. For example, the WINDOWS® operating system uses plain text files, called information (INF) files, for installation of software and drivers. The INF files include all the information the operating system needs to install the driver, but the relationships in the data structure of the INF file are very complex. In some situations, it is desirable to take an offline image (e.g., when there is no access to a running instance of the operating system) on a first IHS and store that offline image on a second IHS. It is very complicated to install a driver using an INF file when there is no access to a running instance of the operating system, and requires the use of a special operating system tool along with the offline operating system each time the driver is installed on an offline image. Furthermore, without with complicated installation process that must be performed each time a driver is to be installed on an offline image, the operating system will likely have trouble booting due to differences in the hardware of the IHSs.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide an improved driver file system for offline image driver installation.